The pilot who saved almost 200 lives after a BA plane burst into flames in Las Vegas said he is 'no hero' on his way to Twickenham to support England.

Chris Henkey, 63, says there was never a moment he felt in danger when one of the engines exploded on the runway earlier this month, when he coordinated what he called a 'textbook' evacuation of the plane.

No-one was seriously injured but Henkey said he is 'no hero' and praised the extensive training that helped him lead 169 people of the plane - which was rapidly filling with smoke.

Chris Henkey, 63, is now enjoying his retirement and will be 'rooting for England' in this evening's Rugby World Cup opener against Fiji at Twickenham

No-one was seriously injured but Henkey said he is 'no hero' and praised the extensive training that helped him lead 169 people of the plane - which was rapidly filling with smoke

Chris Henkey, 63, says there was never a moment he felt in danger when one of the engines exploded on the runway earlier this month, when he coordinated what he called a 'textbook' evacuation of the plane

Mr Henkey organised the expert evacuation of the smoke-filled plane and no-one was seriously injured

Mr Henkey is now retired and is 'rooting for England' as he heads to Twickenham for their Rugby World Cup opener against Fiji tonight, a match he said won't be easy.

He said: 'Fiji are a strong side and we're going to have to work hard to win as they're a tough team to beat but I think we'll do it.'

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Mr Henkey said he is now looking forward to a retirement spent taking long walks and playing golf - but didn't rule out returning to the skies in the future.

He said: 'I've finished flying but I have had a couple of offers since this, possibly to provide consultant work on flying. It might be something to get involved with in the future.

'I have no plans to get back involved with flying at the moment. I used to be a shared owner of an engine, so it might be something I get involved in again later in life.

'You never know, I might miss it. But Before this happened I was looking forward to retirement. I want to take up golf again which I haven't played for five years and lots of walking really.'

Mr Henkey is now retired and is 'rooting for England' as he heads to Twickenham for their Rugby World Cup opener against Fiji tonight, a match he said won't be easy

The BA pilot, from Padworth, Berkshire, modestly spoke about the moment following his mayday call and congratulated the cool crew and calm passengers for executing the plane evacuation.

Just a few people suffered minor injuries following the blaze where it was believed the plane's right engine had burst into flames due to a fault.

An investigation has since launched by the American National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

Reminiscing about a sky-high career spanning 42 years, Mr Henkey said: 'It's been pretty good really, I've never had any accidents with BA, my career has been with BA as a man and a boy.

'I don't really think it is right that people have been calling me the 'hero' because it was the whole crew. It was me, two pilots and the whole cabin crew.'

When asked whether he thought he would die during the freak fire, he said: 'I think it went so fast, around just four minutes, it went very quickly so there wasn't really a moment.

'We have trained in the simulator so it does come naturally.

'After the event we had people talking to us who were trained in dealing with this kind of thing.

'They said there might be mood swings and stuff but I don't think I have had that.'

Former pilot Henkey says tonight's game against Fiji will be a tough one but expects England to win

Mr Henkey formed a strong bond with his colleagues after they spent four days together, as a crew, eating and socialising in a hotel.

'It was a team effort, that's what it is all about- it's not one man, it was the crew and they were great,' he continued.

'When we got back we met a few people in the hotel and one person said normally if you get in this kind of situation there is a really frosty atmosphere, but he said with us guys it was clear that we really got on well together and we did.

Mr Henkey said he is now looking forward to a retirement spent taking long walks and playing golf - but didn't rule out returning to the skies in the future

'They were a great crew and they did very well.

'A couple of the them were a bit upset but I think everyone stayed strong.

'We will at some stage meet up and go through it all again. When I get time I am going to send them all an email and see how they're getting on.

'We did go back to the passengers and I said something to them which went down well. Just said I would like to thank the cabin crew.

'Everyone was very quick. I think the passengers were very good as well.

'There was a quote in the paper from someone saying she was grateful as someone in her family was on board and she said thank you which is good to see, it's what it is all about really.

'I have received a couple of hundred messages at least, and I've got more letters upstairs that have come through.'

Love was in the air for Mr Henkey as he got engaged to his partner Lenka Nevolna in April this year, during a romantic trip away to Jersey when he surprised her with the engagement.

The pilot - who flew friends over to join them in the celebration - said the wedding is being planned for next year, as his explosive retirement and sudden rise to fame made it almost impossible to plan a wedding in the coming months.

He said: 'We didn't have immediate plans to get married because for the last few months it had all been leading up to the retirement and getting that over with - obviously we didn't quite realise it would be as spectacular as it was!'

Mr Henkey is a keen rugby fan and volunteers for a charity that offers disabled children a chance to play the game

The Boeing 777-200 was forced to abort its takeoff and evacuate all passengers after an engine caught fire

Mr Henkey, a former pub landlord, admitted he was a keen Abbot's Ale drinker and was inundated with free pints at his local pub after celebrating his nomination for the Pride of Reading award.

'I used to be the landlord at the Hackgate pub as a retirement project - I did it with my exwife, it was going to be a retirement thing,' he said.

'In the past we had to retire at 55, then the law came in and because of my birthday being just a month after the change it meant that I could stay on, which allowed me to carry on flying.

'I wouldn't pick up the pub again though, it's a very hard industry to be in.'

Mr Henkey and fiancee Lenka will be jetting off again this weekend to enjoy a planned trip to Turkey following the whirlwind week in the wake of the runway fire.

He said: 'The trip away this weekend to Turkey was always planned - that we would go away for the last couple of weeks before I left BA.

'Barbados should have been the last flight. BA looked after us very well.

'BA took us over to Barbados after the incident which was very nice.

'I loved going to Barbados, it's somewhere that I had regularly flown to about once a month for the last few years.'